No respite yet for the embattled former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, over his trial on alleged organ harvesting case as the Central Criminal Court in London, the United Kingdom, yesterday moved the trial date from May, 2023 to January 31, 2023.
According to Channels TV, the Old Bailey agreed that arguments would be heard on the 16th or 19th of December 2022 before the commencement of the trial in January.
The lawmaker and his wife Beatrice were arrested on June 23 and charged with conspiracy to traffic a person for organ harvesting in violation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. He had reportedly arranged to harvest the organ of one David Nwamini for his sick daughter, Sonia.
He was said to be absent in court yesterday, but his wife, who was released on bail in July and Sonia, the couple’s daughter, were present.
Ekweremadu’s travails increased barely five days ago, when Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the interim forfeiture of his assets following an ex-parte motion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, subsequently described the court’s ruling as “hasty” and a “selective judgement.”
